Page 127 of Gabriel
“He stormed off as soon as he realized Coach wasn’t going to put him back in,” he tells me. “And went and found someone to occupy his time with.” He raises his phone and snaps a pic.
“Is that?—”
He nods. “Giana Paxton.”
I eye the girl up and down. “That’s Gigi?” No fucking way. She’s the coach’s daughter. A fucking high schooler at that and only just turned seventeen. Only she doesn’t look like any seventeen-year-old I know. The freckle-faced girl who often acts as her father’s shadow during summer break training is taking a hard stab at looking like a seductress.
“I need this image burned from my eyes,” I mutter.
She’s wearing a navy blue mini skirt that barely covers her ass and a white, skin-tight, v-neck tee that showcases her bright red bra underneath. If that wasn’t bad enough, her tits are all but pouring out of her top as she leans in close to Holt.
He mirrors her movements with an arrogant grin.Fucking hell.
Giana’s eyelids are smudged in black, and her lips are painted a deep shade of red. The makeup and outfit give her the appearance of someone older.Much, much older.Coach is going to kill her. But only after he fucking murders Holt.
Felix’s expression is grim. “Remember when I mentioned he’d been poking around?”
Yeah, it was a while back when Cecilia and I were still … we were still whatever we were. “It’s escalated?”
“Yeah. Holt isn’t just chasing after her anymore,” he says. “Austin has her. He’s fucking her in secret or some shit. I overheard him talking to some of the guys about it the other day, and Rion confirmed that she’s stayed overnight multiple times at the Zeta Pi house, always in Holt’s room.”
Fucking hell.“What is she thinking?”
He grinds his teeth together. “She isn’t. She’s young and dumb and has stars in her eyes.” I register the pure venom in his voice.
“Are we still sticking with the plan?”
He nods. “I’ve warned her off twice already. Until we have enough proof to bury Holt’s ass, it’s the best I can do.”
I grimace. “I can try talking to her—” Giana’s just a kid. She has no clue what kind of guy she’s getting involved with. The kind of shit he’s capable of. Holt messing around with her works in my favor. I need a reason for Coach to kick him off the team and this is as good as any. But even knowing that this gets me one step closer to my goal doesn’t mean I’m alright with just throwing her to the wolves. I’ll talk to her if Felix thinks it’ll help. I know neither of us is okay with Giana turning into collateral damage.
He shakes his head. “It won’t make a difference. Besides, they’re not being particularly careful. I’ve got Rion Pru as my man on the inside. I’ll have what we need and we can get rid of the asshole soon.” It’s a start. Taking soccer away from him is only the beginning. I won’t be satisfied until Holt gets what he deserves.
“How’d you get Pru to turn?”
He chuckles. “Don’t act so surprised. After what I told him before in the locker rooms, it wasn’t all that hard. Dude’s a follower, but he isn’t all bad. He’s got a heart, enough of one at least that he can’t just stand by and do nothing while Holt takes advantage of a teenager. Not when he knows Holt’s a repeat offender.”
We join the rest of our team in the locker room, and I do my best to shake off my irritation. We just won against CPU. We should all be riding high. Instead, all I feel is a looming sensation of dread.
CHAPTER 38
GABRIEL
Spotting Adriana in the halls as she exits her class Monday morning, I make a beeline straight for her. “What game are you playing at?” I call out as soon as I’m within hearing distance.
Dark brown eyes lift to meet mine. I’d almost forgotten how dark her gaze was. A shade of brown that’s damn near black. “Hello, Adriana,” she retorts. “How are you, Adriana? Long time no see, Adriana.” There’s a bite of annoyance in her words, but I’m not in the fucking mood.
“I’m serious, A.” I snap, reverting to the nickname I used for her back when we were in high school. Pressing my arm against the wall, I block her exit when she moves to brush past me. “What’s your angle with Cecilia? Why are you all of a sudden hanging out and being nice to her?” She fucked Allie over back when we were friends. I’m not going to stand by and watch her burn Cecilia, too.
“I am nice,” she bites out, nostrils flaring.
Interesting. If I was less pissed, I’d take the time to analyze her reaction. Instead, I fold my arms over my chest and raise a brow. I don’t have time to beat around the bush.
“Really? We must have different definitions of the word because fucking your best friend’s boyfriend isn’t something I’d considernice.”
Her jaw tightens, but beyond that small display, she’s keeping her emotions locked tight. Typical Adriana. I swear, sometimes I wonder if the girl even has any. She’s always been cold. Borderline frigid. Nothing ever seems to ruffle her feathers. Not unless Julio is involved, at least. Bro dodged a fucking bullet though, if you ask me.
“I fucked up. It was three years ago. You don’t need to keep throwing it in my face. Move on.”
